Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Rodents and bats as reservoirs of zoonoses : ecological and social determinants of human disease risk in Kenya

Pays/Région : Kenya

Durée : avr. 10 - févr. 11

Référence projet : G0902417
Catégorie : Research Grant

Résumé
Recent decades have seen a growing number of dangerous diseases spreading to humans from animal populations. Nearly two-thirds of new human diseases recognized in the past three decades originally came from animals, and two types of animals ? rodents and bats ? are responsible for a disproportionately large percentage of these. Scientists are still trying to understand how these diseases behave in their natural hosts, and what causes them to spill over into human populations, with often fatal consequences. Addressing these complex questions calls for new approaches to research, and particularly for the creation of new partnerships between scientists in different fields. Under the new paradigm, doctors must work closely with veterinarians ; these allied health professionals must in turn engage with wildlife ecologists, environmental scientists, and those studying human behaviour, to create novel, effective partnerships that will enable us to predict and, importantly, prevent future disease outbreaks.

For the first time in human history, more of us now live in cities than in the countryside, and this number is still growing rapidly. More and more, cities will become the new battleground where the war against emerging diseases will be fought. Nowhere is this more true than in the slums of the third world, where nearly a third of the world ?s population already live in overcrowded conditions, with inadequate access to safe water, sanitation and health services. Certain species of rodents and bats are adapted to this human environment, living in houses, stores, sewers and gardens, and exchanging pathogens through excreta, parasites (fleas, mites and ticks), or direct contact, including bites. In our increasingly connected world, a new human disease which emerges from such an environment has the capacity to spread rapidly across the globe, an event we have already witnessed with the emergence of SARS from bats in south-east Asia.

This project, led by the University of Glasgow with partners in Kenya, UK and USA, aims to bring together scientists from different backgrounds, ranging from human and animal health to history and social science. Their aim will be to help understand when and why human diseases emerge from animal hosts, and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks. The strength of the project lies in the creation of new, effective partnerships to address emerging disease threats, under the new paradigm of ?One World, One Health ?.

Lead Research Organisation : University of Glasgow

Financement : MRC
Budget  : £48 951

UK Research and Innovations